Dear Christian friends:
We all decide what is important in our life. Some people decide that
money is the most important thing in their life. Others decide that power
and high position is most important. Others decide that they don't want
responsibility and seek to have an easy, comfortable life. What is most
important in your life? Have you chosen the best things? Maybe what
you have chosen is not really important. In our text God offers His
wisdom and guidance to help us choose the really important things and He
gives us the power to live according to the wise choices we make.
Choosing The Really Important In Life
We need God's wisdom and guidance to choose what is really important in
life, because if we choose we will make a big mistake and choose what can
destroy us here on earth and forever in hell. (verses 49-50) Satan and the
unbelievers in the world tempt us to choose false and bad values such as
riches, sinful pleasures, and high position. If these things are most
important in our life we will tell lies, cheat, steal and kill to get
them, as we see many people doing today in the world around us. Then we
will be like the bad fish in the net which the fishermen threw away.
(verses 47-48)
Also mans sinful nature leads him to choose unimportant and even evil
things and neglect the really important things in life. Man's pride,
greed, and jealousy leads him to choose the bad and unimportant things
instead of the real treasure the pearl of great beauty. (Ephesians 2:1-3)
If we ourselves choose we will always choose what is not important and
what is evil. We need God's wisdom and guidance choose the really
important things in life.
We find God's wisdom and guidance in His Word in the Bible. In Psalm
119:9, David asks a very important question: "How can a young man make
clean his way? Then David answers, "By attending to Your Word, O Lord.
With my whole heart I have searched for You; O let me not wander from
your commandments. Your Word I have hid in my heart, that I cannot sin
against You." (verses 10-11)
The books of men and words of men often lead the young people to choose
unimportant and sinful things and ways or styles of life. Today we have
the gay society and those who advocate sexual freedom, which means
adultery and sins against the Sixth Commandment. How can a young person
today escape these evil influences? By seeking God's wisdom and guidance
in His Word, like David did long ago.
In His Word, the Bible, God tells us what the real treasure is, what is
really important in life. In our text it is called a "box filled with
riches" (verse 44) and "the expensive, perfect pearl." (verse 46) What is this
expensive, perfect pearl? This perfect pearl is that we seek to love
God and our neighbor. The most important thing in life is to be a good
and holy person, Jesus says, "Don't worry about what you will eat or
about what you will wear. (For these things the unbelievers worry and
worry. Your heavenly Father knows you need all these things and will
give them unto you.) But you seek first the kingdom of God and His
righteousness, (Matthew 6:31-33) Knowing God and His Commandments
that is the most important thing in life. Not riches, pleasures or high
office, but doing right is most important. That's what God's wisdom
teaches us.
But can we do what is right? We perhaps know what is important but do
we have the power to choose that? We ourselves alone do not have the
power to choose this most important thing, but God offers us that power
so that we can choose His values. By the saving work of Jesus, God
destroys the power of our sinful hearts or flesh (Romans 6). Paul says,
"Should we continue sinning when we don't have to? Because sins power
over us was broken when we became Christians and were baptized to
become a part of Jesus Christ; through His death the power of your sinful
nature was shattered. Your old sin-loving nature was buried with Him
by baptism when He died, and when God the Father, with glorious power,
brought Him back to life again, you were given His wonderful new life
to enjoy."
In Jesus, God gives us the Holy Spirit, so that now we really love God
and want to do what is good and right. We love God because He first
loved us and sent His Son, Jesus, to die for our sins. True, our old
sinful heart continues to fight against the new heart which God has
given to us in Jesus. But our new heart and spirit can win over the old
sinful heart. Paul says, "Now we can obey God's laws if we follow after
the Holy Spirit and no more obey the old evil nature within us. Those
who let themselves be controlled by their lower natures live only to
please themselves, but those who follow after the Holy Spirit find
themselves doing those things that please God." (Romans 8:4-5)
Therefore we Christians are happy blessed people. We do not stumble
like the unbelievers in the world who choose worthless and sinful things
and love the pearl. We know what is really important in life and we
have the power to choose that and live for that. We have the expensive,
perfect pearl and will give up all other unimportant and evil things
that we may keep and have this precious pearl forever.
Amen.